ATS Best Practices: How to Avoid Bias and Discrimination in Hiring

In today's increasingly competitive job market, hiring the right talent is essential for a company’s success. As technology continues to shape recruitment processes, many organizations have turned to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to streamline hiring, manage candidate applications, and improve efficiency. However, while ATS can significantly reduce administrative burden, there are important considerations companies need to address to ensure that bias and discrimination are not unintentionally baked into the recruitment process.

Bias, whether unconscious or conscious, is a challenge that hiring managers and HR departments must confront. From gender and race to age and disability, many applicants face barriers that may not even be visible to the hiring team. Unfortunately, an ATS, if improperly configured, can reinforce these biases and perpetuate discrimination. The good news is that there are actionable strategies you can implement to avoid these pitfalls and make your hiring process fairer, more inclusive, and more effective.

In this blog post, we will explore how to avoid bias and discrimination in hiring while leveraging ATS best practices to ensure a more equitable recruitment process.

Understanding the Role of ATS in the Hiring Process

Before delving into how to mitigate bias and discrimination, it's important to understand how Applicant Tracking Systems work. ATS software automates many aspects of the recruitment process, including:

• Job posting and application management: Posting job ads, collecting resumes, and tracking candidate progress through each hiring stage.
• Resume parsing and keyword matching: Scanning resumes to identify keywords that match the job description, ranking candidates accordingly.
• Candidate filtering: Shortlisting candidates based on qualifications, experience, and other predetermined criteria.
• Interview scheduling and communication: Managing interviews and facilitating candidate communication through the recruitment platform.

While ATS can save HR professionals significant time and effort, it is important to remember that the system’s algorithms are built around specific rules and patterns, which can unintentionally introduce bias if not properly managed. This makes it crucial to set up and monitor your ATS effectively to avoid reinforcing existing biases in your recruitment process.

Types of Bias in Hiring

To better understand how bias can creep into your ATS, it’s important to recognize the different forms of bias that may manifest in recruitment:

1. Gender Bias

Gender bias occurs when the system favors one gender over another, or when job descriptions and candidate profiles are worded in ways that unconsciously appeal more to one gender. For instance, research shows that job descriptions with masculine-coded language (e.g., "aggressive," "dominant") can discourage women from applying, while those with feminine-coded language (e.g., "collaborative," "supportive") may discourage men from applying.

2. Racial and Ethnic Bias

ATS systems often rely on keywords and phrases in resumes to rank candidates, which can unintentionally disadvantage candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. For example, resumes from minority applicants may use different names, educational institutions, or professional experiences that are underrepresented in the ATS database, leading to lower rankings or automated disqualification.

3. Age Bias

Age discrimination, whether overt or subtle, often affects both younger and older candidates. An ATS might automatically prioritize resumes that fit certain patterns associated with age (such as recent graduates or more experienced professionals) and overlook candidates from different age groups.

4. Disability Bias

Applicants with disabilities might find that their resumes are filtered out due to an ATS system’s inability to recognize non-standard work experiences or to rank candidates with disabilities equally. Moreover, an ATS may inadvertently filter out candidates with accommodations or flexible work arrangements if these are not clearly outlined in the system.

5. Cultural and Educational Bias

The ATS may favor candidates from specific geographical areas or educational institutions, inadvertently filtering out candidates who may have valuable experience but do not fit these traditional markers of qualification. This type of bias can contribute to a lack of diversity in the workplace, even when you are seeking to cast a wide net.

Best Practices for Avoiding Bias and Discrimination in Hiring

Given the risks of bias, it is essential to take proactive steps when configuring and using an ATS. Below are some best practices to help avoid bias and discrimination in your hiring process.

1. Use Inclusive Language in Job Descriptions

One of the first places bias can creep into the hiring process is in the job description itself. If a job posting contains biased language, it can unintentionally discourage certain groups from applying, even before they encounter the ATS.

To ensure your job descriptions are inclusive:

• Use gender-neutral language: Replace gendered terms such as "manpower" with "workforce" or "salesman" with "sales representative."
• Avoid using masculine or feminine-coded words: Tools like Textio or Gender Decoder can help identify language that may be biased toward a particular gender.
• Focus on the role, not the candidate: Instead of listing characteristics that might attract or deter certain groups, focus on what the role requires and what success looks like.

For instance, instead of saying "a strong, assertive leader," try using "an experienced team manager who fosters collaboration." Such language is more likely to attract a diverse pool of applicants.

2. Ensure Your ATS is Configured for Diversity

Many ATS platforms allow users to configure settings that can help avoid bias. Customizing your ATS to prioritize diversity can make a significant difference in the hiring process. Here are a few tips:

• Disable automatic ranking based solely on keywords: Keyword-based ranking can reinforce bias, as it may rank candidates from traditionally privileged backgrounds higher due to the use of familiar phrases. Instead, try to set your ATS to rank candidates based on qualifications and potential rather than on keyword matches alone.
• Remove unnecessary filters: Filters that focus on specific universities, geographic locations, or years of experience may inadvertently exclude talented candidates from diverse backgrounds. Make sure to remove filters that are not essential to the job's core responsibilities.
• Blind recruitment: Many ATS platforms offer features that can anonymize candidate information (like names, photos, and addresses) in the early stages of the hiring process. This can help mitigate unconscious bias based on race, gender, or location.

3. Implement Structured Interviewing

Bias can also creep in during the interview stage, especially if interviewers are not trained to recognize their own biases. Structured interviewing — where candidates are asked the same set of questions in the same order — is one of the most effective ways to reduce bias.

Your ATS can help in this regard by:

• Offering built-in interview scheduling and question templates that ensure fairness and consistency.
• Allowing hiring teams to rate candidates based on predetermined criteria, rather than subjective impressions.

By ensuring the interview process is standardized and that all candidates are evaluated equally, you can reduce the chances of bias influencing hiring decisions.

4. Train Hiring Managers on Bias Awareness

Even with the most sophisticated ATS in place, human judgment can still be influenced by unconscious biases. Regular training for hiring managers and HR teams is essential to help them recognize and mitigate these biases in their decision-making.

Some areas to focus on during bias training:

• Unconscious bias: Help team members recognize how their personal experiences and cultural backgrounds may shape their perceptions of candidates.
• Debiasing techniques: Teach strategies for making decisions that are based on objective criteria, such as evaluating candidates based on skills, qualifications, and experience rather than factors like appearance or name.

Regular training on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles can go a long way toward ensuring that hiring decisions are fair and unbiased.

5. Review and Audit Your ATS Regularly

Technology is constantly evolving, and so are the algorithms that power ATS platforms. It’s crucial to regularly audit your ATS to ensure that it is still in line with your diversity and inclusion goals.

Steps for regular ATS audits include:

• Analyzing candidate outcomes: Review the demographic data of applicants who are filtered out versus those who make it to the interview or hiring stages.
• Identifying patterns of discrimination: Look for trends that indicate any type of bias, whether it’s gender, race, age, or disability-related. If certain groups are being excluded, investigate further to determine the cause.
• Making adjustments to ATS settings: If you identify areas where bias is occurring, reconfigure your ATS settings accordingly. This may include modifying ranking algorithms, updating filters, or adjusting the way resumes are parsed.

6. Encourage Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to Participate in the Hiring Process

Incorporating perspectives from diverse employee resource groups can help to mitigate bias in hiring. These groups can review job descriptions, participate in interview panels, and provide feedback on the ATS system’s impact on diversity.

7. Measure and Track Diversity Metrics

Finally, it's important to track the diversity of your candidate pool and hires. Regularly measure the demographic data of applicants, shortlisted candidates, and hires to assess the effectiveness of your diversity efforts.

ATS systems often have built-in analytics that can help with this. Use this data to:

• Identify patterns of bias in the hiring process.
• Track diversity metrics across different stages of recruitment.
• Evaluate the impact of changes made to ATS configuration or hiring practices.

Conclusion

Applicant Tracking Systems are powerful tools that can help streamline your recruitment process, but they can also perpetuate bias and discrimination if not carefully managed. By implementing the ATS best practices outlined in this post, you can create a more equitable hiring process that attracts a diverse range of candidates and helps your organization meet its diversity and inclusion goals.

Whether you're configuring your ATS, creating job descriptions, or training your hiring team, the key to reducing bias and discrimination lies in being intentional about how you design and use your recruitment systems. By focusing on fairness, inclusion, and continuous improvement, you can ensure that your ATS is working for you, not against you, in creating a diverse and talented workforce.